Oh nice!

I hope it comes through for you-palms don't grow on trees!(-:

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Nice! Ive had good luck with Phoenix coming back from spear pul. Looks like yours will make a full recovery if it keeps growing like that. Might take about a year for it to get a full crown though.
Keep us updated!
-Alex

I planted Phoenix sylvestris (purchased in a blue plastic pot from LOWE'S in 2011) in the ground in the spring of 2011. It grew quite some and when the winter came it was a mild winter of 2011-12 and the lowest temp was 22F just one night and then more than a month later we had 28F followed by another night of 25F. The palm is brown some and green some, but I was able to pull the central spear. So it either is only hardy for Z10 or perhaps it is true when some nursery specialist told me to NOT purchase any palms in blue pots from LOWE'S, because he said the nursery who grows those palms treat them with something that makes those palms 1 full hardiness zone less hardy. So whichever is true I was surprised that in Z9A (mostly Z9B) weather this palm that should survive Z8B had its spear pulled easily the next day after we were hit by 22F-25F for a few hours at night. It does not mean it will die, cause it may recover but a spear-pull is not a good sign and I will never buy any palms in those light-blue pots again!

I've actually had great success with the blue pot palms. I don't think its possible to change a plants zone hardiness by anything itvis treated with. I think the blue pots come from nurseries in warm SouthFlorida that mass produce/grow plants. They are pushed to grow bigger and faster for earlier sale with fertilizers and greenhouse living. That is probably what really influences their hardiness. Without exposure to cold winter temps a "hardy" palm will be less so. Most phoenix palms are usually zone 9 or greater anyway, so not suitable in zone 8 unless winter protected.

I think the lesson here is that in marginal palm zones its always advisable to protect a palm during its first few winters. I would say, more so for the blue pots.

Well, this winter temps were 9A/B even if my area is considered Zone 8A/B, so it does not matter what zone I am if the weather was ALL 100% zone 9A or 9B the the palm should have survived accordingly. Unfortunately these greenhouse-grown palms do not even handle Z9B weather as it seems well. Yet it still green a lot, so I hope for a recovery, but in the ling run my Phoenix sylvestris will probably be killed by a colder winter. Although I hope the zones will shift and we will always have Z9 weather ;-)

Regarding Phoenix dactylifera I grow a few from seed from the dates that I ate.... and while still 1-2 year olds and in pots in my greenhouse, a couple had spear pull recently maybe because I left windows closed for a couple weeks and it got really humid inside and even some Wash. filibusta and W. filifera pulled spears even if the weather was so balmy this winter with Z9B temps except one night was 22F which still makes it Zone 9A weather. There was not a single night in the mid SC with 20F or below this winter.

By the way, I went to the "A Quality Plant" website and when I click on "Order" I get an error.

Regarding Wunderground website, their temp reading are inaccuirate. Two nights ago we had 25F but their website were showing 16F, which I checked around and there was no 16F not even close, maybe it got to 24F but not 16F.

Both the Phoenix sylvestris and dactylifera are stated to survive down to 15F, yet as far as I remember the Phoenix sylvestris was labeled at LOWE'S as 20F, but spear pulled after 25F and one past exposure to 22F. While I remember we got 13F maybe 5 years ago for one night in winter. So this is indeed zone 8A in a long run, but plants don't know it.

Where do you live neonrider?

I've got a 15gal.Phoenix Sylvestris that has took temps. down to 17f twice this winter with no damage.Monday we were below freezing for 20hrs.Mine is still in the 15gal. pot.Everything I've read says plants are not as cold hardy in pots as they would be planted in the ground,which makes since.It really has surprised me,and it's still growing.It's putting out 3 dark green fronds now.I don't let mine get very much water in winter,unless it hasn't rained for say 2 weeks.My potting mix might help also,since there dry climate palms.I have mine planted in 1 part coarse sand to 1 part potting mix.It's been outside all winter on my front porch.I've got a 5gal.Phoenix theophrasti that has been there all winter also,with no damage.I know these 2 Phoenix palms will take cold temps.in the upper teens first hand.
Randy

Orangeburg county, SC

Here is how my Phoenix looks a month later! Can't wait to put it outside.

Holy cow that sucker really was cut back!(:

So happy to see it coming back and it should
grow faster since it has quite the trunk(whats left)
:) and a very extensive root system!

Good deal!

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Glad to see your palm is successfully making a comeback! I tried trunk cutting with a nice sized washy a few years back, but apparently all of the boots were holding very colorful mold(green, pink, bluish-gray), so I wasn't able to save mine.

As far as blue potted palms from nurseries, I think the best thing to do for us northerners trying to use them in ground, is to pot them up and overwinter them in our cold garages for a couple of winters to trigger their hardiness and acclimate them from the constant warm weather of South Florida to a more temperate climate, and then plant them in the ground once they have handled the constant cool/cold temps of a dry garage.

I do agree with Wetsuiter that the blue potted palms are probably pushed for maximum growth with loads of fertilizer, and that probably reduces hardiness.

Glad its coming back for you chicago palm. It should grow really well when it goes outside. It might even have a full crown again by late summer! Palms can be pretty amazing when it comes to recovery. The Trunk Cut method is a last resort when it comes to saving a palm, but it seems to have really good results!

And as for the blue potted palms, they definitely do have reduced hardiness. I have no idea how or why, but my guess is that it has something to do with the conditions they were grown in (probably greenhouse grown, never saw any cold, and over fertilized).
I lost a blue potted needle palm (planted in the ground) after a low temperature for the winter of only 14F. The pups look like they might have survived, but it just wasnt worth growing so I replaced it with a med fan palm and Im glad I did.
My blue potted Sabal minor was protected so it did survive, but it had a lot of damage considering that was a mild winter (2009-2010). Last year (2010-2011) it had even more damage, but this winter it seems to have gotten a lot more cold tolerance and has no damage visible yet. The sabal has been a fast grower though so all the damage that it has gotten was forgiven by early summer. And it seems like the blue potted palms do gain more cold tolerance after a few years of protection.
I think getting a cold tolerant palm from a nursury that grows them in cold conditions is definitely more worth getting than the blue potted palms.

-Alex

Those blue pot plants/palms just need greater protection for a few years.
The foliage they have(when they arrive) will probably never be very hardy,
they will need to get acclimated in the same way that a leggy greenhouse
plant needs to adjust to sun...growing more compact.

I think the best think you can do is overprotect so that it
can use it's present foliage to quickly sprout out hardier leaves/tissue.

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For those of us on a tighter palm budget, the blue potted can offer significant savings. Plus they are often the only type of available without doing the on-line/mail order thing, which I am more distrustful of. Personally, I have to see, touch, compare plants at a garden center. Ordering on line from a photo is very unsatisfying, no matter how exotic or rare the variety is.

I have found some great specimens in blue pots and have seen some real dogs too. The key is shopping around and being educated. When I fist noticed the blue pots, I Googled I and learned about them. It didn't make them bad plants, I just knew what I was dealing with.

It's just always good practice to protect a new palm during its first winter if you live in an area that experiences cold and frozen precip, regardless of where they were grown or purchased. I'll have to post photos of my three (blue pot, from Hone Depot) Med fans when they start growing more for the season. I gave them basic protection during extreme temperature drops and the few times we had a dusting of snow and they look fantastic. The biggest one has already started opening a spear.

Very few people talk about the SIZE of a palm, which matters a lot. For instance I have several 2 ft. overall height European Fan Palms in ground. They brown a lot during winter which slows their growth. Then 2 winters ago I bought a 6 ft. overall height European Fan Palm (quite a large one) and during winters it will not brown a single frond. See the difference? SIZE DOES MATTER! So when they describe HARDINESS, it is not enough to just say it is hardy to zone X. You must also specify a SIZE of a palm tree.

I just wanted to share my experience with blue potted palms. I tried growing a 3 gallon pindo, needle, and sabal minor. All died with protection. However a 7 gallon blue potted sabal minor has been doing great in my yard and 3 gallon windmills seem to be hardy also.

I'm embarrased as to how many blue pots palms I added to my garden. A few windmills, three med fans (10 gal and two 3 gal), numerous needles and minors and a 10 gal pindo. Only one died, but that was during last summer's drought and my sprinkler was missing it. Before I notice it was failing, it was too late. I took it back to HD and got a full refund. During the winter, I wrapped the pindo (no heat) and only covered the Med fans on two coldest nights (15F) and when we had a few snow flurries. Everything came through winter fine (yes, it was a mild one) and are growing well this season. I do have a slight half zone advantage over the NYC, so that does favor my situation. But I've been completely satisfied.